From a new Bitcoin warning to the latest support for XRP, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash, here’s a look at some of the stories breaking in the world of crypto.
Bitcoin
As Bitcoin clings to $5,000, Bloomberg is issuing a new warning about where the price of BTC may be heading.
The GTI VERA Convergence Divergence indicator “sent its first sell signal since mid-March. The shift could suggest further downside may be ahead as the coin flirts with its highest levels of the year.”
The technical gauge is designed to identify market reversals and exhaustion. It utilizes typical moving average convergence divergence (MACD) and looks to remove excess noise, using a proprietary theory called volatility explosion relatively adjusted (VERA).
According to George McDonaugh, chief executive officer at London-based blockchain investment company KR1 Plc, a drop lower for Bitcoin would only be natural.
“When Bitcoin jumped significantly a few weeks ago, the volume was big enough to push up through major resistance levels into a potentially new trading range. Current movements are natural market cycles within a trading range, and it’s just the market searching out the lower bounds.”
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Ethereum
The latest edition of EthHub Weekly is out, covering all things Ethereum.
The new post looks at developments on Ethereum 2.0 and a number of Ethereum-based platforms, including Maker, which is comprised of a decentralized stablecoin, collateral loans and community governance, and AirSwap, a peer-to-peer trading network.
Ripple and XRP
Ripple’s global head of banking Marjan Delatinne just sat down for an interview at the 2019 Penn Blockchain Conference.
Delatinne talks about her efforts to engage with companies in the financial industry and demonstrate how blockchain can boost their bottom line.
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XRP, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash
eToro’s regulated crypto exchange and wallet eToroX just launched seven new pairs for XRP, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash. The pairs are BCH/BTC, LTC/BCH, BCH/ETH, XRP/ETH, LTC/ETH, BCH/XRP and LTC/XRP.
IBM has released a new video on its Stellar-powered World Wire remittance platform. Lead developer Seema Phalke talks about how the platform works and the advantages of using Stellar’s technology.
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Tron
Tron’s latest weekly report is out. The new edition reveals new progress on BitTorrent Speed which will integrate the Tron-based BitTorrent Token (BTT) with the file-sharing platform. The report also looks at the recent release of the Tron-based Tether (USDT) token.
Fintech Startup Fluidity announced its plans to launch a project that will log mortgages onto the Blockchain network.
At the Fluidity Summit held on May 9th, the company released its schedule to develop the first Ethereum-powered mortgages in New York and California. The service is set to launch this summer and is expected to feature lower rates when compared to traditional loans.
The chief architect of Fluidity, Todd Lippiatt, said:
“We’ll tokenize the house, which will effectively take the collateral that is the equity of the house. You’re pledging the house and you get an advanced rate back in terms of dollars.”
The startup’s upcoming mortgages are expected to use Cryptocurrency and smart contracts for back-end management. Lippiatt said that Fluidity is currently looking for partnerships with Ethereum-centric lending platforms like MakerDAO’s dollar-pegged DAI loans.
Borrowers must submit online credit checks and all other essential information just like in any other online loan platform. Fluidity will then process the information and create a smart contract using a tokenized representation of the mortgage. The company can then package these loans together and resell them as securities via an exchange like AirSwap. Fluidity plans to offer cheaper rates compared to banks, with borrowers going through a process similar to a traditional loan.
The whole process provides the borrower with a quasi-traditional mortgage. The issuer and the subsequent traders are the main beneficiaries of this blockchain system functionality. Lippiatt noted that the demographics of the underbanked and low-income borrowers are a prime fit for such loans.
Also Read:
French Multinational Bank Societe Generale sells $112 million worth of Ethereum bonds
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This week, the various corners of the Ethereum ecosystem have been filled with a particularly lively flurry of activity.
First up, there’s MAD Stores — think “Mutually Assured Destruction.” Created by Ethereum developer Alejandro Diaz and announced on Wednesday, Turms MAD Stores is an anonymous and decentralized marketplace that leverages Ethereum smart contracts in order to avoid needing a backend server at all.
In the reveal, Diaz characterized the marketplace as akin to a “completely decentralized” and more private version of eBay:
“Another difference between ebay and MAD Stores is that sellers can remain anonymous, or at least pseudonymous; that is, buyers and sellers are only known by their Ethereum addresses (or ENS names).”
Those making deals can use the relatively new Turms Anonymous Message Transport system, another project Diaz has worked on. Turms AMT can make encrypted comms between Ethereum addresses.
Moreover, the MAD smart contracts provide escrow functionalities, a product category ledger, and the ability to record a seller’s inventory and information about it.
Buyers and sellers are protected according to the aforementioned principle of Mutually Assured Destruction. If a party on either side of a deal tries to scam the other, both users’ escrowed funds will be burned.
Another Ethereum Mixer Steps Up to the Plate Various mixers have been proposed in the Ethereum ecosystem recently (e.g. Heiswap), and the latest oncomer is the Tornado mixer, which is backed by the zk-SNARKS privacy tech — also known as “Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge” transactions.
The mixer is notably non-custodial, meaning users can facilitate private Ethereum-based trades right from the comfort of an address of choice rather than having to first deposit ether (ETH) onto a centralized exchange.
The Tornado mixer was just released on the Kovan testnet, so it’s not ready for a production environment status just yet. But its progress is heartening for many Ethereum community stakeholders who have been lobbying for solid mixer resources in recent times.
Pooled cDAI Built to Help Ethereum Funding For the past few weeks, EthHub co-founder and Gnosis team member Eric Conner has floated the idea of launching a pooled fund comprised of the Dai stablecoin, the interest of which could be put toward Ethereum development activities while at the same time allowing investors to pull out their principal investments when all was said and done.
Now, an early example of that model has officially been put forth in the Pooled cDAI project. As the effort’s GitHub explains, it does the following activities:
“[…] Pools DAI, converts it into Compound DAI, and sends interests to a beneficiary. Users putting DAI into the pool receives Pooled cDAI (pcDAI), an ERC20 token which is 1-for-1 redeemable for DAI at any time.”
Introducing Pooled cDAI, an ERC20 token template allowing people to pool DAI together, lock the DAI into @compoundfinance , and send the interests to a beneficiary. Locked DAI can be withdrawn *at any time*. Kinda like generalized @PoolTogether_ . #DeFi https://t.co/jX6ZAANhdf
— zefram.eth (@boredGenius) July 25, 2019
Chalk it up as another novel open-source development funding avenue that could be explored by all sorts of entities in the cryptoeconomy, not least of which are Ethereum stakeholders looking to boost development prospects in the blockchain’s ecosystem.
Wow! Someone already built the community interest fund idea.
I love this community. https://t.co/owmaeSyT50
— eric.eth (@econoar) July 25, 2019
Speaking of the Dai stablecoin, it’s also worth mentioning that the MakerDAO team that oversees the dual MKR-DAI ecosystem has opened up a bug bounty campaign for the coming Multi-Collateral Dai offering, which will ultimately allow users to take out collateralized debt positions (CDPs) using assets beyond ether.
You all know what this means… soon™️ https://t.co/6kVa7G3rLk
— DeFi Pulse (@defipulse) July 25, 2019
Real World, Off-Chain Assets to Underpin Maker CDPs? Speaking of opening up CDPs with assets beyond ether, what about doing so with off-chain assets like physical property?
That’s what Fluidity — the builders of the AirSwap crypto exchange — are planning with their Tokenized Asset Portfolio roadmap.
Today @fluidityio introduced the Tokenized Asset Portfolio (TAP) —
A model enabling real world assets to be pledged as collateral in decentralized credit facilities —
Including the MakerDAO multi-collateral Dai system cc @makerdao $dai #ethereumhttps://t.co/0wgHQaQ5dD
— Michael Oved (@ovedm606) July 25, 2019
Reasonable people can agree or disagree as to whether off-chain assets being used to secure Dai loans is a shrewd idea, but what’s clear is that the DeFi horizon is growing day by day.
William M. Peaster
William M. Peaster is a professional writer and editor who specializes in the Ethereum, Dai, and Bitcoin beats in the cryptoeconomy. He's appeared in Blockonomi, Binance Academy, Bitsonline, and more. He enjoys tracking smart contracts, DAOs, dApps, and the Lightning Network. He's learning Solidity, too! Contact him on Telegram at @wmpeaster
AirSwap reported that their development team had detected a ‘critical vulnerability’ in a recently launched AirSwap smart contract. According to a blog released on medium, AirSwap, a decentralized token-trading platform built on the Ethereum blockchain, revealed that on 12th September, the internal security review team recognized a major flaw in the mainnet of the smart contract.
The vulnerability would have allowed any hacker to perform a swap with another party without requiring their signature. It was stated that the tainted code was active in the system for less than 24 hours and only a few addresses were affected. The article stated,
“When the issue was detected, the team immediately rolled back AirSwap Instant to use the original smart contracts. Both the AirSwap Instant and Trader products are no longer affected by the vulnerability.”
The AirSwap team also carried out a few remediations after the vulnerability was reported. Dev team initiated identification of affected users and started the process of de-risking [process of protecting user asset without alerting the network]. All vulnerable components were removed from the production AirSwap UI and from all related tools.
AirSwap released a statement of apology and remarked,
“We would like to deeply apologize to our affected users for any inconvenience these vulnerabilities may have caused, and hope that the important lessons we continue to learn throughout these processes form the basis for a more open, secure, and efficient trading environment.”
AirSwap is a non-custodial platform for peer-to-peer over-the-counter (OTC) and request for quote (RFQ) trading of Ethereum ERC-20 tokens and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which enables individuals and trading firms to swap tokens directly with each other.
The platform is decentralized because AirSwap does not control the users’ funds and trading execution is done via smart contracts.
AirSwap’s peer-to-peer swaps are non-custodial and atomic, which the platform claims helps to eliminate counterparty and intermediary risk, since there are no deposits or escrow.
The platform has the advantage of a decentralized exchange (DEX) in that users are in complete control of their funds until the trade is executed, so either both parties get what they traded for or neither does.
Who invented AirSwap?AirSwap was invented by Michael Oved and Don Mosites, with backgrounds in finance and technology respectively.
Following the publication of the Swap Protocol whitepaper in 2017, the pair created a partnership between their company Fluidity and ConsenSys, and branded the initial implementation as AirSwap. AirSwap launched its network and token on October 10, 2017.
Did you know?Crypto investors Mike Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Digital and Joseph Lubin, CEO of ConsenSys, are both advisors to AirSwap.
What’s so special about AirSwap?Centralized exchanges require users to trust in the exchange to safely keep their money for them and not get hacked, break the law, or make any unwise decisions.
On the other hand, decentralized exchanges in which trades happen completely on the blockchain are vulnerable to issues such as maximal extractable value (MEV), in which miners or validators rearrange transactions in order to extract the maximum possible value from the trade.
By design, AirSwap’s trade execution happens directly from one wallet to another wallet at the same time, which the platform claims mitigates against the danger of front running or MEV.
AirSwap is also a self-sustaining decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), in which protocol fees on swaps are automatically routed to pools that support project governance and development.
What else is different?AirSwap differs from fully on-chain DEXs like Uniswap in a number of ways.
On-chain DEXs typically use automated market makers (AMM) to determine price during execution based on a constant product formula. These transactions are without intermediaries and involve one party depositing "liquidity" beforehand and another party later taking it.
This means that depositing and swapping against the AMM is easy and does not require makers to be online and available for pricing. However, AirSwap argues that managing pricing strategies on DEXs is limited and costly, with heavier on-chain logic leading to higher gas costs, while front-running and market manipulation are possible.
AirSwap touts its “flexible” protocols, which can support several kinds of trading, between two individuals or an individual and several trading firms, trading ERC-20s, NFTs, and other digital assets. Products utilizing these protocols include RFQ, LastLook, OTC, and NFT marketplaces.
How is AST produced?In October 2017, AirSwap launched the AirSwap Token (AST). Of the 500 million AST total supply, 150 million were sold during the token launch. Today, around 200 million are in circulation with the remaining tokens held in a multi-signature treasury wallet currently managed by Consensys Mesh.
How do you get hold of AST?AST is an ERC-20 token that can be traded on AirSwap and other DEXs—or on reputable centralized exchanges like Coinbase and Binance.
What can you do with AST?AST is a membership token that enables holders to perform a number of different functions. These include:
Being a maker: AST enables makers to announce their availability on the AirSwap network. Currently the staking requirements for makers on Ethereum are 100K AST for each server and 100 AST for each token supported. These requirements vary depending on the deployed EVM chain. Participate in governance: With the introduction of the DAO in 2021, AST now also enables holders to stake to a decentralized governance system and participate in proposal (AIP) votes. Participants in votes earn a claim on a portion of the protocol fees generated by trades on the DEX. Earn a swap bonus: Members with staked AST receive a bonus on swaps performed on AirSwap, which essentially directs a portion of the protocol fee directly to the member’s wallet during a swap. Editor's note: This article was first published in October 2019 and updated in September 2024.
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AirSwap’s native token, AST rose as high as 115%, driven by renewed interest from whales and a favorable technical setup.
According to data from CoinGecko, AirSwap (AST) rose to an intraday high of $0.071 on June 23 afternoon Asian time, extending its gains to 255% from its year-to-date low of $0.020.
AirSwap rallied as the global crypto market cap dropped roughly 3% to $3.2 trillion on the day. Major assets, including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), continued to trend downward, weighed by escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and shifting investor sentiment toward safe-haven assets.
By press time, AST had cooled off to $0.051, trimming its daily gain to approximately 51%. However, technical and on-chain indicators suggest the token may still be poised for further upside.
On the 4-hour/USDT chart, AST has decisively broken out of a multi-week descending channel, typically seen as a reversal signal when followed by volume confirmation. In addition, the token completed a breakout from a bull-flag pattern, a continuation pattern that often signals further upward momentum.
AST price, 50-day and 200-day SMA chart — June 23 | Source: crypto.news Notably, AST is now trading above both the 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages. The 50-day SMA appears on track to cross above the 200-day SMA, a technical formation known as a golden cross, which is traditionally seen as a bullish long-term signal.
On top of that, the MACD lines have pointed upwards, while the Supertrend indicator has flipped to a green signal, reinforcing the short-term bullish bias.
AST Supertrend and MACD chart — June 23 | Source: crypto.news From a price-action perspective, AST may attempt to retest its recent high of $0.071. A successful breakout above this level could open the door to a rally toward the next resistance at $0.095, which was last touched in April.
Whale accumulation appears to be a key catalyst driving the move. According to CoinMarketCap data, whales currently control 83.8% of AST’s circulating supply, a trend that retail traders often track for cues on institutional sentiment.
Concurrently, total AST balances on exchanges have dropped by over 21% in the past three months.
On the development front, the AirSwap team has also scheduled a community call on June 25 to discuss upcoming DAO-related initiatives. The announcement has stirred renewed engagement across the AirSwap ecosystem, which could sustain attention in the short term.
Despite the bullish setup, there remains a key risk for investors. According to data from CoinMarketCap, the top 10 holders currently control nearly 80% of the circulating supply. This high degree of concentration introduces a vulnerability to sudden sell-offs or price manipulation, which could create volatility in the absence of strong demand-side support.
Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.
Rubio: US and Iran to continue technical consultations at the end of this month
Multiple foreign media outlets reported on the 24th that US Secretary of State Rubio said technical teams from the United States and Iran will hold further talks in Switzerland by the end of June. (Xinhua News Agency)
7 hours ago
Over the past 24 hours, total crypto market liquidations hit $606 million, with more than 130,000 traders liquidated.
According to Coinglass data, the global cryptocurrency market recorded $606 million in liquidations over the past 24 hours, including $542 million in long-position liquidations and $68.22 million in short-position liquidations. A total of 135,785 traders worldwide were liquidated in the same period, with the largest single liquidation order occurring on Binance’s BTCUSDT trading pair, valued at $12.0111 million.
7 hours ago
Bitcoin falls below $60,000
According to HTX market data, Bitcoin has fallen below $60,000, with a 4.3% drop in the past 24 hours.
7 hours ago
US Treasury Secretary: AI boom may boost productivity and help curb inflation.
US Treasury Secretary Bessent told CNBC in an interview that he hopes the Federal Reserve will remain "open-minded" about the inflation pattern after the reversal of Iran-related energy price hikes. Bessent noted that the U.S. could enter an economic environment marked by high GDP growth without a corresponding rise in traditional inflation. He cited that in the 1990s, Alan Greenspan foresaw that office modernization and the internet could drive non-inflationary growth, and allowed the economy to keep expanding. Bessent believes the U.S. has a strong chance of seeing a similar scenario again. When asked whether the Fed still needs to worry about potential inflation and whether interest rate cuts are possible this year or next, Bessent declined to comment. However, he argued that it is necessary to stay open-minded about the price or inflation impacts from the Iran conflict, and monitor inflation performance after those effects subside. Bessent also said an open mind is needed, as the AI boom could boost productivity and deliver disinflationary effects, helping inflation return to the Fed’s target level. He added that he believes Kevin Warsh will choose the optimal path that meets both the Fed’s inflation and growth mandates. Bessent also noted that Warsh previously took a hawkish stance on inflation.
7 hours ago
US stocks' intraday storage sector sees broad declines, with Western Digital and Seagate Technology both falling over 4%.
According to Bitget data, during U.S. stock trading hours, the storage sector saw broad declines: Western Digital (WDC) fell 4.47%, Seagate Technology (STX) dropped 4.17%, SanDisk (SNDK) declined 2.31%, and Micron Technology (MU) edged down 0.96%. Most optical communication concept stocks rose, with Corning (GLW) leading the gains at 9.75%, followed by Ciena (CIEN) up 3.24%, Coherent (COHR) rising 2.93%, Lumentum (LITE) gaining 2.61%, and Nokia (NOK) advancing 1.82%. Additionally, Marvell Technology (MRVL) fell 2.59% and Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) declined 1.90%.
7 hours ago
During intraday trading in U.S. stocks, crypto-related concept stocks fell broadly, with MSTR dropping more than 7%.
According to Bitget market data, the three major U.S. stock indexes rose broadly: the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.94%, the S&P 500 increased 0.60%, and the Nasdaq rose 0.63%. Crypto-related stocks fell across the board, with declines as follows: Strategy (MSTR) down 7.33%; Circle (CRCL) down 4.35%; Bitmine (BMNR) down 3.97%; Coinbase (COIN) down 3.73%; Robinhood (HOOD) down 3.70%; Gemini (GEMI) down 3.27%; Bullish (BLSH) down 3.25%; Sharplink (SBET) down 3.19%.
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In November last year, the South Korean cryptocurrency exchange, UPbit, was hacked. The perpetrators took approximately $50 million worth of Ethereum. A new report shows that $3.2 of the stolen funds is already laundered using small transactions towards numerous other exchanges.
$3.2 M Of ETH Laundered During November in 2019, Cryptopotato reported that the popular South Korean crypto exchange, UPbit, was hacked. At the time, over $50 million worth of the second-largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum, were withdrawn from the exchange to an anonymous account, which raised concerns.
Even though UPbit officials reacted swiftly and stopped all further transactions, they confirmed a bit later that the hack indeed took place. The CEO of the company also said that they would recover all lost funds from UPbit’s corporate assets.
A new report indicates that 20,520 ETH of the total stolen amount has already been laundered. In terms of USD, it has a value of $3.2 M, which is 6.4% of all the stolen funds.
The anonymous address that received all stolen coins when the hack was initiated has been linked with numerous small transactions towards lots of other cryptocurrency exchanges. Some of those exchanges include Binance, Bitfinex, Bitrue, Huobi, Hitbtc, and more.
Uppsala Security, the entity behind Sentinel Protocol, revealed the information and claims that these transactions have the sole purpose of money-laundering. The President of the firm, Patrick Kim, seems to believe that this particular criminal activity will continue:
“We believe that the hackers continue to launder money through exchanges without any sanctions standing in their way.”
UPbit Updates Security The Korean exchange appears to be taking further steps to improve its security and to make sure that similar activities won’t happen again. UPbit recently announced that it has updated its Ethereum wallet security system and made the old addresses obsolete.
You may also like: Jaredfromsubway Hacker Ignores 50% Bounty, Routes Funds to Tornado Cash BitMine, SharpLink, and Joe Lubin Back New Ethereum Nonprofit ETHLabs New Proposal Redirects 10% of Staking Rewards to Fund Ethereum Ecosystem The company has also opened deposits and withdrawals for Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies. Moreover, customers should delete the previous ETH address from their wallets entirely, as this could cause future losses.
“A new wallet system has been adopted for deposit and withdrawal of cryptocurrencies. […] The recovery of ETH sent to the previous address from now on could be a long and costly process.”
Guilds that emerged during the play-to-earn boom are evolving with the crypto gaming industry. Now GuildFi has announced plans to rebrand itself to Zentry, with plans to create a unified “superlayer” that rewards players across all types of games—those across multiple blockchains, but also Web2 games and even real-world social experiences.
The firm began life back in the Axie Infinity days, running a scholarship program that lent players in-game NFTs in exchange for a cut of their play-to-earn income. Even then, GuildFi aspired to broader aims, describing plans for a cross-game ID that would accumulate points across various games and reward players for engagement.
Now under the Zentry banner, the upcoming blockchain-powered superlayer is like a more ambitious take on the idea—a “game of games,” as founder and CEO Jarindr Thitadilaka said in a press release, spanning not only crypto and NFT games but also pulling in data from games that users play on Web2 platforms.
Gaming remains at the core of that experience, but Zentry is aiming bigger, seeking to reward users for all sorts of social and entertainment activities. For example, social media interactions and real-world actions tracked via an upcoming app will also play into this goal.
According to Thitadilaka, Zentry's flagship Radiant app will act as the interface for users, letting players progress and accrue rewards based on their activities across blockchain applications, traditional gaming platforms, social media, and the physical world. Imagine earning benefits for hitting your fitness goals, or for going on a streak of daily coffee runs.
"Our Play Economy is the next iteration of play-to-earn, growing its scope beyond just Web3 or games," Thitadilaka told Decrypt. "Within it, every play, every victory, and every moment not only enriches your gaming legacy but also benefits your real-world self, empowering gamers like never before."
As part of the rebranding effort, Zentry will launch a new ZENT token. Holders of the existing GuildFi (GF) token on Ethereum can swap for ZENT at a 1-for-10 exchange rate via a web portal.
GuildFi raised more than $140 million in funding back in 2021, primarily through a community token sale but also via investment from prominent firms like Binance Labs, Coinbase Ventures, and Animoca Brands. The firm says its treasury is still valued above $100 million as of the start of 2024, spanning crypto assets, tokens and equity via investments, and owned NFTs.
Artwork from Zentry's "superlayer" experience. Image: ZentryZentry’s transformation comes soon after one of its biggest contemporaries from the Axie Infinity era, Yield Guild Games, revealed its own shift—from a guild itself into a protocol to power other guilds. Yield Guild is working with the makers of various games to integrate its guild tech to let players seamlessly team up and collaborate within blockchain games.
In Zentry’s case, the goal is to pull together all of the gaming, social, and entertainment actions of users and merge them via shared interface that offers rewards. It will have the feeling of a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), Thitadilaka explained, complete with story elements to draw players further into the experience.
Community members, he said, will be able to vote on governance, initiatives, and rewards, but Thitadilaka said the gaming universe he envisions is not a DAO. A decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) is a community structure where control is spread out rather than being hierarchical, and aims to be fully decentralized and governed by community consensus.
Thitadilaka expressed skepticism about the practicality of a fully decentralized ecosystem at present, citing potential negative consequences when "everyone does whatever they want,” instead suggesting a more controlled yet participatory model as Zentry takes flight.
"Our gaming universe extends beyond a typical DAO," he said. "It features a one-of-a-kind ecosystem stack of four vertically integrated cores, including blockchain infrastructure bridging Web2 and Web3 data, a suite of apps for players, and a multiversal IP world that deepens engagement through compelling narratives and collaborative IP partnerships."
The blockchain industry, Thitadilaka believes, is packed with infrastructure and games that can’t attract sizable audiences due to technical complexities, along with other high barriers to entry. They focus solely on Web3 gamers and leave out the much, much larger universe of Web2 players. Zentry is designed to bridge that gap.
"We are here to solve that and capitalize on these underutilized systems and communities,” he said, “to not just evolve with the crypto gaming industry but be responsible for its evolution.”
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Web3 gaming guild GuildFi has announced a strategic rebranding after securing $140 million in funding in 2022 from notable investors including Binance Labs, Coinbase Ventures, Animoca, Pantera Capital, and Hashed.
According to the announcement, the rebranding marks a significant step in Zentry’s mission to create a universal Superlayer that will integrate games across all platforms into a single, cohesive Play Economy.
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“Imagine a game of games: one profile, expansive rewards, multiversal IPs and vast gaming activities,” said Jarindr Thitadilaka, founder & CEO of Zentry. “We’re reshaping how gamers are recognized and rewarded by enabling how a player’s gaming activities benefit their real-world self, and their real-world actions to boost their digital self. This will usher in a fundamental shift in the gaming industry where profits will flow from corporations to players.”
The rebranding also introduces a token conversion program, allowing GuildFi token holders to convert to the new Zentry token in a 1-for-10 split, further integrating the community into the Zentry ecosystem. With over $100 million in treasury and partnerships with leading Web3 properties, Zentry is set to become a dominant force in the gaming, entertainment, and lifestyle sectors.
Zentry’s idea is to create a massive multiplayer online RPG in real life. This overlay experience will combine loyalty systems, gamer identities, and cross-world activities, offering a unified community for the world’s three billion gamers.
Moreover, their ecosystem designed for blockchain gaming is aimed at transcending traditional DAOs, offering a story-driven product ecosystem with four core components: a blockchain infrastructure bridging Web2 and Web3 data, consumer apps targeting diverse player demographics, an IP-rich world for deeper engagement, and a substantial treasury for strategic growth and ecosystem incentives.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Gino Matos. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Tanzeel Akhtar has been reporting on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology since 2015. Her work has appeared in leading publications including The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, CoinDesk, Bitcoin...
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April 24, 2024
Web3 gaming guild GuildFi which raised $140 million from Binance Labs, Coinbase Ventures, Animoca, Pantera Capital, Hashed and others, has been rebranded to Zentry.
In an announcement, Zentry said the rebranding was a strategic decision and as part of this revamp the firm will relaunch GuildFi. Zentry will introduce a new token conversion program where holders of the original GuildFi token $GF will be able to convert to the new Zentry token $ZENT.
Zentry said it will build a “Superlayer” to reunite three billion gamers in one economy, regardless of the platform used. Gamers will be unified. The Superlayer will combine loyalty systems, gamer identities, and cross-world activities from countless games and platforms into a single overlay experience.
In addition to linking Web3 and Web2 games, social media and in real-life (IRL) activities will unify the community of gamers. This tech also creates a new game of games in itself, said the firm.
“We’re reshaping how gamers are recognized and rewarded by enabling how a player’s gaming activities benefit their real-world self, and their real-world actions to boost their digital self,” said Jarindr Thitadilaka, founder and CEO of Zentry, in a press release.
Zentry All About Gamifying Daily Life“Zentry aims to unite the silos in gaming, and also bridge the silos between our physical and virtual lives. It’s all about gamifying daily life, because most people’s ‘real’ life includes untold hours spent online,” explains Thitadilaka. “In this new Play Economy, you can buy a coffee from your barista and your Zentry character gets a perk, or vice versa.”
Web3 Gaming Growth 2024In 2024, web3 gaming is growing rapidly with the space attracting more VC investment. In 2023, it is estimated that the blockchain gaming-related rounds reached $1.7 billion which is a significant part of that has flowed to the 270 blockchain games in development on Immutable.
Recently King River Capital, blockchain gaming firm Immutable and Polygon Labs announced they had teamed up to launch a $100 million gaming fund.
Web3 gaming platform Elixir Games raised $14 million in a seed funding round from Square Enix, the Solana Foundation and Shima Capital, and others. The funding will be used by Elixir Games to launch its native token “$ELIX” and its “Launchpad & Incubation Program” which go live later this year.
Web3 gaming firm Illuvium announced it had raised $12 million in a series A funding round with contributions from investors such as Australian venture capital firm King River Capital, Arrington Capital and Animoca Ventures.
Gibraltar, Gibraltar, November 29th, 2024, Chainwire
Hydration has announced the launch of its decentralized borrowing platform, the Hydration Money Market. The new platform allows users to supply cryptocurrency as collateral, earn interest on their deposits, and borrow various digital assets.
Built on the Polkadot blockchain, the platform emphasizes efficiency and innovation in the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. Hydration introduces on-chain prioritized liquidations, a mechanism designed to minimize losses and prevent exploitation during liquidation events.
The platform operates as a fork of the AAVE v3 protocol, offering over-collateralized borrowing capabilities and enabling users to explore advanced strategies, such as leveraging positions and arbitraging interest rates. These features cater to users seeking diverse, risk-adjusted financial strategies within the DeFi space.
Hydration’s launch is a step forward in its mission to democratize access to financial tools while ensuring sustainable protocol development. The project’s focus on transparency and user-centric design aligns with the broader goals of fostering a robust, decentralized financial ecosystem.
For more information, users can visit hydration.net, app.hydration.net or follow Hydration on X (formerly Twitter).
About Hydration
Hydration is a blockchain-based platform dedicated to enhancing financial accessibility and innovation through decentralized tools. By leveraging Polkadot’s scalability and interoperability, Hydration aims to empower individuals and institutions with secure, transparent, and efficient solutions for borrowing, lending, and managing digital assets.
Disclaimer: This is a Press Release provided by a third party who is responsible for the content. Please conduct your own research before taking any action based on the content.
Gibraltar, Gibraltar, November 29th, 2024, Chainwire
Hydration has announced the launch of its decentralized borrowing platform, the Hydration Money Market. The new platform allows users to supply cryptocurrency as collateral, earn interest on their deposits, and borrow various digital assets.
Built on the Polkadot blockchain, the platform emphasizes efficiency and innovation in the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. Hydration introduces on-chain prioritized liquidations, a mechanism designed to minimize losses and prevent exploitation during liquidation events.
The platform operates as a fork of the AAVE v3 protocol, offering over-collateralized borrowing capabilities and enabling users to explore advanced strategies, such as leveraging positions and arbitraging interest rates. These features cater to users seeking diverse, risk-adjusted financial strategies within the DeFi space.
Hydration’s launch is a step forward in its mission to democratize access to financial tools while ensuring sustainable protocol development. The project’s focus on transparency and user-centric design aligns with the broader goals of fostering a robust, decentralized financial ecosystem.
For more information, users can visit hydration.net, app.hydration.net or follow Hydration on X (formerly Twitter).
About Hydration
Hydration is a blockchain-based platform dedicated to enhancing financial accessibility and innovation through decentralized tools. By leveraging Polkadot’s scalability and interoperability, Hydration aims to empower individuals and institutions with secure, transparent, and efficient solutions for borrowing, lending, and managing digital assets.
[PRESS RELEASE – Gibraltar, Gibraltar, November 29th, 2024]
Hydration has announced the launch of its decentralized borrowing platform, the Hydration Money Market. The new platform allows users to supply cryptocurrency as collateral, earn interest on their deposits, and borrow various digital assets.
Built on the Polkadot blockchain, the platform emphasizes efficiency and innovation in the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. Hydration introduces on-chain prioritized liquidations, a mechanism designed to minimize losses and prevent exploitation during liquidation events.
The platform operates as a fork of the AAVE v3 protocol, offering over-collateralized borrowing capabilities and enabling users to explore advanced strategies, such as leveraging positions and arbitraging interest rates. These features cater to users seeking diverse, risk-adjusted financial strategies within the DeFi space.
Hydration’s launch is a step forward in its mission to democratize access to financial tools while ensuring sustainable protocol development. The project’s focus on transparency and user-centric design aligns with the broader goals of fostering a robust, decentralized financial ecosystem.
For more information, users can visit hydration.net, app.hydration.net or follow Hydration on X (formerly Twitter).
About Hydration
Hydration is a blockchain-based platform dedicated to enhancing financial accessibility and innovation through decentralized tools. By leveraging Polkadot’s scalability and interoperability, Hydration aims to empower individuals and institutions with secure, transparent, and efficient solutions for borrowing, lending, and managing digital assets.
Hydration has announced the launch of its decentralized borrowing platform, the Hydration Money Market. The new platform allows users to supply cryptocurrency as collateral, earn interest on their deposits and borrow various digital assets.
Built on the Polkadot blockchain, the platform emphasizes efficiency and innovation in the DeFi (decentralized finance) ecosystem.
Hydration introduces on-chain prioritized liquidations, a mechanism designed to minimize losses and prevent exploitation during liquidation events.
The platform operates as a fork of the AAVE version three protocol, offering over-collateralized borrowing capabilities and enabling users to explore advanced strategies, such as leveraging positions and arbitraging interest rates.
These features cater to users seeking diverse, risk-adjusted financial strategies within the DeFi space.
Hydration’s launch is a step forward in its mission to democratize access to financial tools while ensuring sustainable protocol development.
The project’s focus on transparency and user-centric design aligns with the broader goals of fostering a robust, decentralized financial ecosystem.
For more information, users can visit the website or the Hydration web app, or follow Hydration on X.
About Hydration Hydration is a blockchain-based platform dedicated to enhancing financial accessibility and innovation through decentralized tools.
By leveraging Polkadot’s scalability and interoperability, Hydration aims to empower individuals and institutions with secure, transparent and efficient solutions for borrowing, lending and managing digital assets.
Singapore, Singapore, January 10th, 2025, Chainwire
Bifrost has announced that vDOT, Polkadot‘s largest liquid staking token (LST), has been listed as a collateral asset on Hydration Money Market. Within 15 hours of opening deposits and borrows, vDOT reached the supply cap of 220K and surpassed $2.2 million in Total Value Locked (TVL) pushed by DOT leveraging demand.
The integration of vDOT into Money Market allows for new strategies for Polkadot’s DeFi participants: By staking Polkadot (DOT), participants receive vDOT, which can be used as collateral to borrow additional DOT. This process allows for the possibility of repeating the cycle to explore strategies aimed at optimizing returns.With this introduction, Bifrost is unlocking the opportunities of what’s possible in Polkadot DeFi, creating synergies and flywheels for the ecosystem. Users are offered the opportunity to earn dual yields, borrow against their staked tokens without sacrificing liquidity, and leverage their positions for higher yields. This synergy also enhances DOT market liquidity, drives user adoption, and exemplifies the DeFi composability of Polkadot ecosystem, making vDOT as a cornerstone asset within the Polkadot ecosystem.
For more information, users can visit app.bifrost.io or follow Bifrost on X.
About vDOT
Bifrost’s vDOT, short for “voucher DOT,” is a reward-bearing liquid staking token (LST) issued by the Bifrost Staking Liquidity Protocol. vDOT represents staked DOT on the Polkadot Relay Chain and accrues staking rewards, reflected as an increase in its value rather than its quantity.
As Polkadot’s largest DOT LST, vDOT boasts a total locked value of over $50 Million, enabling users to maximize their capital efficiency while benefiting from staking rewards.
About Bifrost
Bifrost is a liquid staking appchain tailored for all blockchains, utilizing decentralized cross-chain interoperability to empower users to earn staking rewards and DeFi yields with flexibility, liquidity, and high security across multiple chains.
Disclaimer: This is a Press Release provided by a third party who is responsible for the content. Please conduct your own research before taking any action based on the content.
Singapore, Singapore, January 10th, 2025, Chainwire
Bifrost has announced that vDOT, Polkadot‘s largest liquid staking token (LST), has been listed as a collateral asset on Hydration Money Market. Within 15 hours of opening deposits and borrows, vDOT reached the supply cap of 220K and surpassed $2.2 million in Total Value Locked (TVL) pushed by DOT leveraging demand.
The integration of vDOT into Money Market allows for new strategies for Polkadot’s DeFi participants: By staking Polkadot (DOT), participants receive vDOT, which can be used as collateral to borrow additional DOT. This process allows for the possibility of repeating the cycle to explore strategies aimed at optimizing returns.With this introduction, Bifrost is unlocking the opportunities of what’s possible in Polkadot DeFi, creating synergies and flywheels for the ecosystem. Users are offered the opportunity to earn dual yields, borrow against their staked tokens without sacrificing liquidity, and leverage their positions for higher yields. This synergy also enhances DOT market liquidity, drives user adoption, and exemplifies the DeFi composability of Polkadot ecosystem, making vDOT as a cornerstone asset within the Polkadot ecosystem.
For more information, users can visit app.bifrost.io or follow Bifrost on X.
About vDOT
Bifrost’s vDOT, short for “voucher DOT,” is a reward-bearing liquid staking token (LST) issued by the Bifrost Staking Liquidity Protocol. vDOT represents staked DOT on the Polkadot Relay Chain and accrues staking rewards, reflected as an increase in its value rather than its quantity.
As Polkadot’s largest DOT LST, vDOT boasts a total locked value of over $50 Million, enabling users to maximize their capital efficiency while benefiting from staking rewards.
About Bifrost
Bifrost is a liquid staking appchain tailored for all blockchains, utilizing decentralized cross-chain interoperability to empower users to earn staking rewards and DeFi yields with flexibility, liquidity, and high security across multiple chains.
[PRESS RELEASE – Singapore, Singapore, January 10th, 2025]
Bifrost has announced that vDOT, Polkadot‘s largest liquid staking token (LST), has been listed as a collateral asset on Hydration Money Market. Within 15 hours of opening deposits and borrows, vDOT reached the supply cap of 220K and surpassed $2.2 million in Total Value Locked (TVL) pushed by DOT leveraging demand.
The integration of vDOT into Money Market allows for new strategies for Polkadot’s DeFi participants: By staking Polkadot (DOT), participants receive vDOT, which can be used as collateral to borrow additional DOT. This process allows for the possibility of repeating the cycle to explore strategies aimed at optimizing returns.
With this introduction, Bifrost is unlocking the opportunities of what’s possible in Polkadot DeFi, creating synergies and flywheels for the ecosystem. Users are offered the opportunity to earn dual yields, borrow against their staked tokens without sacrificing liquidity, and leverage their positions for higher yields. This synergy also enhances DOT market liquidity, drives user adoption, and exemplifies the DeFi composability of Polkadot ecosystem, making vDOT as a cornerstone asset within the Polkadot ecosystem.
For more information, users can visit app.bifrost.io or follow Bifrost on X.
About vDOT
Bifrost’s vDOT, short for “voucher DOT,” is a reward-bearing liquid staking token (LST) issued by the Bifrost Staking Liquidity Protocol. vDOT represents staked DOT on the Polkadot Relay Chain and accrues staking rewards, reflected as an increase in its value rather than its quantity.
As Polkadot’s largest DOT LST, vDOT boasts a total locked value of over $50 Million, enabling users to maximize their capital efficiency while benefiting from staking rewards.
About Bifrost
Bifrost is a liquid staking appchain tailored for all blockchains, utilizing decentralized cross-chain interoperability to empower users to earn staking rewards and DeFi yields with flexibility, liquidity, and high security across multiple chains.
The Polkadot community has engaged in discussions regarding a significant proposal aimed at diversifying its Treasury portfolio and supporting decentralized finance (DeFi) incentives within the ecosystem. In response to Referendum #1394, the proposal suggests converting 500,000 DOT from the Polkadot Treasury into Bitcoin’s tBTC within approximately one year. This conversion will be executed using Hydration’s “Rolling DCA” (Dollar Cost Averaging) mechanism. The acquired tBTCs will subsequently be added as liquidity to the Hydration Omnipool through the Threshold Network’s secure Bitcoin $60,761 bridge. The proposal is currently under forum discussion and has yet to be voted upon on-chain.
Creating a Bitcoin Reserve for the Polkadot TreasuryCentral to the proposal is the conversion of 500,000 DOT held in the Polkadot Treasury into tBTC. This process is not a one-time purchase but rather a year-long endeavor. Purchases will utilize the “Rolling DCA” feature offered by the Hydration protocol. This mechanism automates purchases in small increments over time, mitigating the impact of market volatility.
Altcoin Polkadot Bitcoin ReserveOnce the conversion is complete, the obtained tBTC assets will provide liquidity to the Hydration Omnipool. This liquidity addition utilizes a secure bridge technology developed by the Threshold Network, allowing users to bring their Bitcoin into the Polkadot ecosystem without involving third-party custodians. Proponents of the strategy argue that it will diversify Treasury assets and boost liquidity, thereby encouraging DeFi activities on the Polkadot platform.
Background and Expectations of the ProposalThe proposal emerged as a result of Referendum #1394, known as “Wish-For-Change,” which initiated debates concerning the governance of the Polkadot Treasury. A community member presenting the proposal highlighted Bitcoin’s performance as one of the strongest assets over the past decade. This provides an opportunity for Polkadot as a hedging strategy against uncertainties.
Furthermore, this move is viewed as a demonstration of the altcoin Polkadot’s belief in and support for a multi-blockchain future, presenting a clear message to the broader cryptocurrency market. The proposal holds the potential to pave the way for deeper integration of the Polkadot ecosystem with a major asset class like Bitcoin.
As discussions continue in the forum, the proposal is anticipated to be formally put to a chain vote early next week.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.
Polkadot is exploring its own Bitcoin reserve, with a new proposal making rounds that aims to convert 500,000 DOT tokens into tBTC, an Ethereum-based Bitcoin-backed ERC-20 token. The proposal aims to implement Hydration’s “rolling DCA” mechanism and accumulate BTC over the course of the next year. The DOT community has given mixed reactions to this proposal.
Polkadot to Leverage Hydration to Convert DOT to BTC The DOT organization explained that it would leverage the Hydration system to convert DOT into tBTC through an automated system of recurring purchases. Unlike standard DCA setups, Hydration’s rolling feature streamlines the process, requiring users to top up a proxy account that automatically renews the DCA schedule. This proposal has come to light soon as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) delayed the decision on spot Polkadot ETF.
The plan also shows that a small contribution of 0.005 tBTC would go to the Hydration Omnipool using Threshold Network’s non-custodial Bitcoin bridge. At current rates, 1 DOT would equate to approximately 0.000041 tBTC.
This initiative seeks to build Bitcoin reserves for the Polkadot Treasury, thereby boosting on-chain liquidity and providing better incentives for DOT’s decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. Currently, the proposal is in the community discussion phase and awaits a formal vote.
From governments to corporations, and now blockchain platforms, everyone’s eyeing strategic BTC reserves. Ukrainian officials also also working on a BTC reserve bill, which, if approved, will be taken care of by the central bank.
Community Remains Divided on Bitcoin Reserves Considering the poor price performance of DOT tokens this year, in 2025, some Polkadot community members have backed the idea of having their own Bitcoin reserves. With DOT price already correcting 60% since the start of 2025, they believe that a BTC reserve would help prevent the free fall. One of the DOT community members wrote:
“I believe the “DOT ATL, BTC ATH” argument misframes the situation.
This proposal is about risk management and operational continuity, not market timing or speculation”.
He further stated that if they wait for perfect timing for BTC entry, they would never be able to diversify. Some skeptics also questioned this proposal, stating: “I just don’t see how we can do this and for it to really provide any value, short or long term”.
Additionally, the blockchain platform is also working on introducing the first Debit card for DOT tokens, by working with Nova wallet.
HOLLAR is a USD-pegged, over-collateralized stablecoin backed by DOT, ETH, and BTC.
Hydration, the largest Polkadot-based decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol by total value locked (TVL), has launched its native stablecoin, HOLLAR, today, Sept. 22.
According to a press release viewed by The Defiant, HOLLAR is designed as a decentralized, over-collateralized stablecoin — meaning the value of its reserves is more than the stablecoin’s circulating supply — backed by a basket of cryptocurrencies, including Polkadot’s native token DOT, Ether (ETH), and Bitcoin (BTC). DOT is currently changing hands around $4, down about 7% on the day.
HOLLAR’s Stability Module provides real-time price support and partial liquidations to protect user positions. The stablecoin also integrates with Hydration’s trading, lending, and staking products.
The launch comes as the stablecoin sector continues to grow. Total market capitalization is nearly $293 billion, up 69% from this time last year, according to DefiLlama.
The team behind HOLLAR pointed to the risks of traditional stablecoins in the press release, raising concerns around centralization and reliance on the traditional banking system. HOLLAR aims to differentiate itself as a safer, fully decentralized alternative, they said.
“The DeFi space deserves better than half-baked experiments or centralized compromises,” said Jakub Gregus, founder of Hydration “HOLLAR represents a reimagining of what stablecoins can achieve when you control the entire execution environment, rather than being constrained by generalized smart contract environments.”
The initial supply is capped at 2,000,000 HOLLAR, the press release states, and users can mint the asset at a 5% annual borrow rate.
“I’m looking forward to the release of HOLLAR and making sure it is well integrated with the direction of using stablecoins where they need to be used,” Dr. Gavin Wood, creator of Polkadot, was quoted as saying in the release: “I particularly like Hollar because it’s decentralized and uses DOT as collateral. I prefer to use something like HOLLAR over USDC or USDT by a massive margin.”
Hydration is by far the largest Polkadot DeFi protocol, with over $330 million locked on the protocol, followed by Moonbeam at about $9 million. Polkadot, known as a Layer 0 chain, is currently the 36th largest blockchain by market capitalization, at around $6 billion.
Tether’s USDT remains the largest stablecoin globally, with a market capitalization of $172 billion, followed by Circle’s USDC at nearly $74 billion. Most recently, Tether announced USAT, its American-focused stablecoin.
Coin PricesHow Hydration is Building the 'Holy Trinity of DeFi' With its HOLLAR Stablecoin
Ben McMahon, Ecosystem Lead at Hydration, explains how the all-in-one DeFi stack brings together swaps, a stablecoin platform and borrowing and lending in one place—and how Hydration's new stablecoin HOLLAR fits into its ecosystem.
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FIFA President Gianni Infantino pushed back against accusations that mandatory hydration breaks during the 2026 World Cup are a cash grab, stating on June 23 that the pauses are “purely a sporting matter” and generate “no additional revenue for FIFA.”
What Infantino actually said Infantino’s core argument is straightforward: all of FIFA’s commercial and broadcasting agreements were locked in well before the hydration break decision was made. In his words, “there is no additional revenue for FIFA, as all commercial agreements were signed well in advance.”
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The breaks themselves were announced in December 2025, designed to apply to every match across the expanded 48-team tournament co-hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Each pause lasts three minutes, giving players a chance to rehydrate during matches played across a range of climates and altitudes that come with a three-country format.
Infantino isn’t wrong that FIFA itself doesn’t pocket more money from the breaks. But broadcasters like Fox Sports stand to gain increased advertising inventory during those pauses. The distinction is real but also somewhat convenient: FIFA gets to claim clean hands while its broadcast partners potentially benefit.
FIFA has said it plans to evaluate the impact of hydration breaks after the 2026 tournament wraps up, leaving open the possibility that future World Cups could either keep or scrap the format depending on how the data shakes out.
The bigger picture: FIFA’s monetization playbook Those blockchain initiatives remain entirely separate from the hydration break policy. There is no crypto or digital asset component tied to the pauses whatsoever. No tokenized sponsorship deals linked to break duration. No NFT drops triggered by hydration timeouts.
FIFA operates a separate blockchain initiative for digital collectibles through the FIFA Collect platform, which transitioned to the Avalanche-based network. Additionally, Infantino has suggested exploring a FIFA-branded token to enhance fan engagement in early 2026, though no concrete plans or timelines have emerged regarding implementation.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
MANTRA: All ERC20 versions of OM will be deprecated on January 15th. Please migrate as soon as possible.
PANews reported on January 6th that MANTRA, a Layer 1 blockchain focused on RWA assets, reminded users on its X platform that currently, less than 8% of the total OM token supply is the ERC20 version. All ERC20 OM tokens will be officially deprecated on January 15th; please migrate as soon as possible.
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US Three Major Indexes Mixed, HOOD Down Over 6.11%
MANTRA, a popular blockchain ecosystem for real-world assets (RWAs), has introduced a new product in partnership with M0, a universal stablecoin firm. In this respect, MANTRA is launching MANTRA USD, which operates as a purpose-built stablecoin dealing with tokenized RWAs.
As we head into a new year, we're excited to introduce our newest and freshest product, @mantraUSD.
Built in cooperation with @m0, here's everything you need to know about the world's first purpose-built ecosystem stablecoin for RWAs.👇 pic.twitter.com/zbvGichEru
— MANTRA | Tokenizing RWAs (@MANTRA_Chain) January 5, 2026 As per MANTRA’s official press release, the development strengthens builders to create secure, interoperable, and programmable financial products to fulfill ecosystem requirements. The project gets support from the provisional U.S. Treasuries backing the MANTRA EVM RWA network.
MANTRA USD Goes Live to Challenge $USDC and $USDT’s Dominance in Stablecoin Market MANTRA’s MANTRA USD is going live in collaboration with M0. Hence, the product intends to redefine the stablecoin market. At present, $USDT and $USDC are dominating the industry while providing yield gains to the issuers instead of the communities that back them. On the other hand, MANTRA USD challenges the respective model and redistributes rewards to network participants. Thus, it ensures that value generation benefits those who drive the adoption.
As a result, this shift underscores a fundamental reimagining of the wider stablecoin economics, breaking away from the extractive activities toward mutual incentives. Amid the growth of the stablecoin ecosystem beyond $300B, MANTRA USD emerges as a crucial part of the next-gen Stablecoin 2.0 epoch. In such an era, aligned networks thrive via equitable distribution of value.
Stablecoin Shift Redefines Value Sharing and Yields Stablecoin sector is experiencing a substantial turning point. What started as a noteworthy hedge against the rise in crypto volatility currently stands as a multi-trillion-dollar opportunity. So, it demands innovation in the method of reward sharing. The design of MANTRA USD follows this vision, providing an asset-backed, transparent model to fortify ecosystems instead of diluting them.
According to MANTRA, the new stablecoin product delivers an advanced settlement layer that lets users stake into relatively low-risk vaults for risk-free returns. At the same time, the builders and asset managers can utilize MANTRA USD in the form of an on-chain proxy in the case of off-chain yields. Ultimately, amid the expansion in adoption, MANTRA USD is poised to revolutionize how ecosystems distribute and capture value during 2026 and onwards.
AUTHOR
Crypto journalist with years of experience providing in-depth analysis and news on blockchain and decentralized finance. With a keen eye for detail, Shahzaib delivers insightful articles that explore the latest trends, market movements, and innovations within the crypto and blockchain ecosystem. His work focuses on educating readers while offering expert commentary on the evolving landscape of digital assets, DeFi protocols, and the broader impact of blockchain technology.
MANTRA, the Layer 1 blockchain specially built for real-world assets (RWAs), has announced an easy way for the conversion of any EVM-based assets, especially $USDC and $USDT, through the Hyperlane Nexus Bridge. Hyperlane Nexus Bridge is a cross-chain interoperability solution that helps users move their assets and messages between different blockchains.
The @Hyperlane Nexus Bridge allows users to seamlessly bridge assets directly to MANTRA chain from any EVM chain, including USDC and USDT.
Watch the video or follow the step by step guide below to bridge USDC directly to MANTRA EVM.
🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/SCN9vAzOhA
— MANTRA | Tokenizing RWAs (@MANTRA_Chain) January 7, 2026 The main purpose of this step is to remove the hurdles that are faced by users during the conversion of any EVM-based assets directly into MANTRA Chain. The interesting thing about this news is that MANTRA Chain does not bind users to come with a certain EVM-based asset for conversion. MANTRA Chain has released this news through its official social media X account.
MANTRA Chain Simplifies USDC Bridging with a Clear Video Walkthrough MANTRA Chain is providing full and detailed information to users about the conversion steps and the interfaces in a clear, recorded video message. The method is very simple for everybody; users just need to bind the wallet to the selected network to which users want to bridge assets to MANTRA Chain.
Especially, for $USDC, fill in the amount and recipient address, and then proceed to the option continue. Review the transaction details, which include gas approximation, and after that, click to send MANTRA Chain. After the initiative, users just need to review and sign two transactions through their connected wallet. First, approve the transaction, followed by the transfer transaction.
MANTRA Chain and Hyperlane Simplify Cross-Chain Asset Transfers After the successful completion of these steps, users will receive a confirmation message of congratulations for user’ bridged $USDC to MANTRA EVM. The same process is for all other EVM-based assets for the conversion to MANTRA Chain.
MANTRA Chain and Hyperlane are going to solve the issue of users in terms of converting $USDC, $USDT, and any other EVM-based digital assets. Simultaneously, in this process, users will face a negligible fee on every transaction.
AUTHOR
Crypto journalist with years of experience providing in-depth analysis and news on blockchain and decentralized finance. With a keen eye for detail, Shahzaib delivers insightful articles that explore the latest trends, market movements, and innovations within the crypto and blockchain ecosystem. His work focuses on educating readers while offering expert commentary on the evolving landscape of digital assets, DeFi protocols, and the broader impact of blockchain technology.